Evil Gods Don’t Save People

After hunting a wild Beyonder Sequence 4 Night Watcher he had come across, Gehrman Sparrow waited for the Beyonder Characteristics to surface.

Although he hadn't intended to spread his notoriety in this way, it had somehow happened, and this characteristic could be used to trade at the Tarot Club to Mr. Star, who had advanced to Sequence 6 a while ago thanks to the Tarot Club's connections and was now in the process of digesting his potion.

At least, the fact that this wild Beyonder wasn't affiliated to the Evernight Church was a bonus. It was nearly like a divine gift from the Evernight goddess Herself.

…Knowing Amanises personally, She would have told him if She had done so, so it most probably wasn't the case.

Being The Fool had the disadvantage of not being able to fantasize about gods' actions as He knew clearly what they wouldn't do.

To begin with, since He was stronger than Them, 'receiving God's grace' was no longer possible.

Except if it was God Almighty, but then He didn't want it.

Gehrman Sparrow retrieved the Beyonder Characteristics that had finished surfacing and cleaned up his perfect crime, as any normal wild Beyonder afraid of the authorities would—ignoring the fact that the main reason the crime was perfect is that even if this matter escalated, the gods of the orthodox churches wouldn't dare try to catch him in the first place.

But before it escalated, they would chase Gehrman Sparrow all over the world while being unaware of his true identity as an Evil God.

Hmm…

'Let's worry about it later.'

At that moment, prayers reached his ears, reminding him of the Full Moon in the sky.

***

With nothing else to say, Fors explained the Abraham family's situation, expressing her worries about other beyonders in the same situation as her due to Mr. Door's ravings. Moreover, she wished to help her teacher.

"Is there any way to help them?"

As she finished, the Fool, who was usually zoning out, uncharacteristically raised His head.

"You can let them recite my name."

Fors was surprised as she didn't really expect an answer to this question. She only thought He would be distracted as usual and she'd have to bring Him back to reality.

Fors didn't question why the god had changed His mind when He seemed so opposed to it before and happily thanked Him, a burden lifted off her shoulders.

She would write a letter and bring it up to her teacher after returning to the real world.

Then, she changed the subject.

"Did you follow up on Miss Justice's proposal and descend by yourself in the end? Is it possible for you to descend by yourself?"

And if He was indeed not bound to this place, why did He need her to do a ritual before? Or did He recover enough strength to do it without rituals now?

The Fool explained what He was up to these last few days, Fors listening intently to His tales of terrorizing and massacring pirates (a demigod)—she really should have expected some of it given the Fool's common sense—or being given an arm before and randomly meeting an angel who sensed their missing arm before proposing to sign a messenger contract.

Fors thought that this story would be perfect for a novel.

But only for a novel. In reality, it was downright terrifying.

Pushing away the thought that it wasn't a novel, Fors continued to listen to the unrealistic adventures of the Evil God.

'Ah, so that's why there's a scepter here.'

***

"I have a commission."

As He said this, the Fool's gaze paused on Audrey, the noble more concerned by the request He would make due to her wealth, before sweeping over the others.

The Tarot Club members had fallen into silence, curious about what the god who usually didn't ask for anything would demand.

Cattleya in particular, as a new member, was more nervous than the others. Actually, it was the same for Alger, who tended to make conspiracy theories, his anxiety mixed with excitement at the idea of making contributions.

Having gotten all the members' attention, the Fool looked toward Audrey once more.

"It's a commission more directed at you, Miss Justice, but the others can also participate."

To Miss Justice? Why?

However, the person in question could easily speculate the reason, considering her background.

Curious, Audrey inquired, "What is it?"

"I would like you to use your connections to nobles and wealth to set up a charity to support the poor and renovate the slums."

The Fool rapped the long bronze table, spelling out the whole situation for the more simplistic members.

"Tramps and poor people are a major part of Backlund and are perfect as a hotbed for evil gods. Thus, this was used by the Aurora Order for the descent of the True Creator during the Great Fog of Backlund. However, on the contrary, assisting tramps to at least let part of Backlund's slums find a stable job and get out of their predicament would greatly alleviate the risks. Moreover, we can use this in our favor to spread our influence and get their support and faith when we'll build a Church."

If other evil gods do it, why can't He?

Everyone was stunned by the declaration.

Building a Church?

Some members, like Miss Justice, were thrilled, while the Sun or Temperance saw it as taken for granted—but for different reasons—Miss Magician was merely surprised as she had not heard about it, and pirates like the Hanged Man and the Hermit were in awe and frightened.

Meanwhile, Mr. Star wondered if he should start getting worried. Should he try to inform the (Evernight) Church? Wasn't this dangerous?

…He would ask the Old Man later.

Mr. Star returned to observing, thinking it wasn't his business.

At that moment, Miss Justice was one of the first to snap out of her daze and enthusiastically accepted, determination burning in her gaze, "I will do my best."

She was fired up, not wary at all that this commission came from an evil god. After all, He was asking her to do charity, what could go wrong? And she trusted the Fool.

"You can take your time to think about what you want in exchange."

Suddenly, the Fool addressed Leonard.

"I would like Mr. Star to help Miss Justice as well."

Leonard was startled that his code name was mentioned.

As a nighthawk—now Red Glove—it's true that he was paid generously and had quite a bit of money saved up, so it's not like he couldn't help, but why him?

Miss Justice also curiously turned her gaze toward Mr. Star.

Ignoring their reactions, the Fool continued, "By working for me, you can exchange your contributions for, for example, the Sequence 5 and 4 Beyonder characteristics of your pathway I have in my possession, as well as their corresponding potion formulas."

Although it wasn't needed now, acquiring them earlier would definitely be helpful to become stronger and carry out his revenge.

"Or," The Fool looked into the Star's eyes, "I could help you locate the one you wanted to kill."

The Star's eyes widened, his countenance serious.

'Ince Zangwill.' Leonard gritted his teeth.

Although the Fool said He wouldn't help him kill him, locating Ince Zangwill was already of considerable help.

With the opportunity of getting Beyonder Characteristics for his advancement—putting aside the possibility that a Beyonder of the Church could have been killed to obtain them—and the evil god's assistance in finding his enemy's location, revenge was finally within reach.

"I accept," Leonard declared, his back straight.

'The one he wanted to kill?' Despite being surprised by the Star's sudden change in attitude, the members didn't remark on it, instead choosing to gaze at the Fool.

Satisfied with the Star's answer, the Fool addressed the solemn Red Glove.

"Great. I will give you the Beyonder formulas as an advance payment, that way you can gather supplementary ingredients in advance."

Mr. Star put his hand on his chest, bowing.

"Thank you for your benevolence."

Audrey was happy for the Star, also glad to see the Tarot Club getting stronger, while other Tarot Club members wondered if they would also be able to help the Fool and receive such rewards.

The show of generosity didn't fail to impress the members, reinforcing the loyalty of some.

Finally, it was time for the free exchange segment, the Hanged Man bringing up a subject he was curious about.

"I heard that the Sea God Kalvetua suddenly stopped answering prayers. It is rumored that He was killed by a certain Gehrman Sparrow. Do you know anything about this?"

At that moment, the Fool suddenly intervened.

"Huh? I did it."

There was silence above the gray fog.

Fors, who already knew about who Gehrman Sparrow was and had listened to his 'achievements' from the person in question, wasn't surprised.